Given lemons

These two arrived into my local supermarket at the same time recently, a little late for high summer but very welcome on a warm day in early September. Both are radlers, from two of Germany's big national brands.

I'll take them in ascending order of ABV, beginning with Bitburger Naturtrüb Radler, at 1.9%. It pours as one would expect for naturtrüb, looking like a pale cloudy lemonade, just short of ice and a tiny parasol. The aroma promises refreshment, with a hint of quenching lager crispness next to the very obvious lemon syrup. It has the stickiness of a fizzy soft drink, but at least it's not vapid and watery. The beer side is missing from the flavour, however, with the flavourings providing all the sweetness and bitterness that's perceptible, leaving no space for malt or hops. Given that Bitburger Pilsner isn't the most flavoursome lager in the first place, that probably shouldn't be surprising.

The ABV goes up to 2% for Warsteiner Natur Radler. This one is clearer: a see-through murky yellow, so I hoped it might have a bit of beer character. Not really, it turned out, and again I think that's at least in part down to the base beer's basic blandness. They did get the body right here, though: while it still tastes primarily like a soft drink, it's light and fizzy like a lager. The lemon element is restrained, tasting more like a classy bitter-lemon mixer than something aimed at children. For the use-case these beers were put to, this one performed better. I might even have considered a second, which is unusual for me and sugary drinks.

These were cheap, and fine to drink, but I still don't get the appeal.